Joy of Youth
by ContraBardus
Summary: Ranma and Ryoga eat magic mushrooms to become young. Unfortunately they run out before they can change back! Hilarity insues.


I mistakenly wrote that this starts in Vol. 34 of the Manga. The story is actually in vol. 33.  
  
  
The joy of youth.  
  
  
  
Part one.  
Warning; Spoiler alert! This is not the early adventures of the duo. If you want that go find another fanfic, I'm sure there's one out there, just don't ask me for one. This story begins at the end of the 'Magic Mushroom' story in vol. 33 of the manga.  
  
  
Stuck young.  
  
Akane Tendo stared at the two plates in her hands in shock. Nothing but charred remains were left of the two mushrooms she had hidden away from the two five year old boys that had once been Ranma and Ryoga. The pair's squabbling had destroyed all the fungus they had tried to cultivate on their own and she had taken the initiative and hidden some away from them. The remains of her room lay scattered around her from where the boys had torn through her things in an attempt to find them and her dresser lay in pieces strewn across the floor.  
The pair had hidden in the drawer in an attempt to hide from her when she came in and had used the Moukou Takabisi and the Shi shi houkoudan to escape. Unfortunately this destroyed the very thing they were trying to get to.   
She tilted the plates over in her hands and felt a strange tugging at her heart. The mushrooms were gone, those had been the last two. Now her fiancee and his rival were stuck as they were for good.  
  
"I guess you two will just have to live on, adjust. I'm sure you'll get used to it."  
  
The two boys seemed to freeze in place as they looked at her with terror filled eyes. Neither moved as she lifted them into her arms and carried them out of the room into the hallway. She placed them on the floor outside the room and closed the door behind her.  
  
The pair walked down the hallway silently and moved towards the porch of the Tendo home, Ranma unconsciously leading Ryoga along. They sat down and stared into the yard.  
  
Inside her room Akane fell onto her bed with tear filled eyes and sobbed into her pillow. "Ranma you fool!"   
  
She had two others hidden away just in case something like this happened, unfortunately they didn't last long after reaching the full sixteen inches. Just before she came into the room to offer the boys their musrooms, she had checked on them; only to find two dried husks.   
  
Ranma and Ryoga sat in silence for a long time, the family was mostly unaware of the situation just yet. Nabiki had suspicions but no one had been told just yet. Finally Ranma spoke up.  
  
"We'll go see Cologne tomorrow. That map you made was useless, maybe she'll know how to find this stupid forest."  
  
The lost boy turned towards his rival with an annoyed stare and nodded. He hated to admit it, but it was their best shot. Getting by Mousse might be a bit of a problem though. He wasn't aware of their little problem just yet, but an earlier encounter with the blind martial artist had been less than kind to them. He paused and looked at Ranma for a moment before speaking up.  
  
"You know what she's going to want in exchange Ranma."  
  
The pigtailed boy nodded grimly and sighed. "I can't just stay this way, besides, anything to keep Mr. Tendo from giving us another of those damn 'Mustache Tickles'."  
  
Ryoga gulped hard and nodded in agreement. It was not a pleasant memory for him, parts of his face still itched from the man's random attacks. He wasn't really all that upset about Ranma taking the fall for this one, despite the fact that he knew it was just as much his fault as the pigtailed boy's. The price Cologne would make him pay was just icing on the cake for him. Unfortunately, he also knew the pigtailed boy would squirm his way out of it. Life was so unfair sometimes.  
  
  
  
"Come on Ryoga!" cried five year old Ranma as he hurried through the streets of Nerima towards their destination.  
  
"Damn you Ranma!" cried the tiny lost boy as he charged after him.  
  
"If you don't keep up I'll have to spend all day looking for you!" snapped the pigtailed boy angrily as he walked ahead.  
  
The pair stopped and looked up at the sign in front of them. "We made it!" cried Ryoga.  
  
"We would have been here an hour ago if it wasn't for you," commented Ranma lazily.  
  
"Shut up!" snapped Ryoga as he shoved the boy in the chest.  
  
"Are you trying to pick a fight?" snapped the pigtailed boy.  
  
"You got it!" retorted the lost boy. Within moments the pair was locked in an all out brawl in the middle of the sidewalk.  
  
  
  
Mousse stepped outside of the Cat Café with an annoyed look on his face. He glanced down at the two brawling youngsters. "It's those brats again," he thought sourly. He hit them both in the head and they froze in place with tears welling up in their eyes. "Go somewhere else and fight, you're disturbing our customers."  
  
Ranma and Ryoga glanced up at him as Mousse disappeared into the restaurant. "Hey wait!" cried Ranma.  
  
Ryoga just stood there as the pigtailed boy was promptly booted out of the business on his face.  
  
"This is going to be tougher than I thought," commented Ryoga with a frown.  
  
  
"Mousse! What's all this racket!?" snapped Cologne as she emerged from the kitchen.  
  
"It's nothing, just a couple of stupid kids," replied the boy as he began to scrub the tables.  
  
"This isn't a playground, keep them out of here," said the old woman as she whirled around and went back to her own work.  
  
"What kind of fool do I look like?" snorted the boy as he wiped one of the chairs down with a wet rag. Needless to say the man who was sitting in it at the time wasn't too pleased.  
  
  
"Man, we gotta talk to that ghoul!" said Ranma as he watched the doorway from an alleyway across the street.  
  
"You're right, she's our last hope," agreed Ryoga as he looked towards the opposite end of the alleyway.  
  
"It's this way!" said Ranma as he corrected him and forced him to face the right direction.  
  
"Yeah, I know," said Ryoga unconvincingly.   
  
"So how do we get in?" Ranma looked thoughtful for a moment and slapped his palm into his hand. "I've got it."  
  
  
  
Mousse stood up as a shadowy figure walked into the door. "Hello, how can I help you sir?"  
  
The man was about four feet tall and was wearing a long trench coat and hat, he also had a rather thick mustache. "I'd like to speak to..."  
  
"Say, don't I know you from somewhere?" said Mousse with a suspicious look in his eyes.  
  
"Uh, I don't think so," said the squeaky voice from under the hat.  
  
"Oh, you just looked familiar," replied the boy with a smile reappearing on his face. A strange double sigh of relief came from behind him and he brushed it off.  
  
"That was close," muttered Ranma carefully.  
  
"Shut up and hurry up! You're heavy!" complained Ryoga from underneath him.  
  
"Keep it down pig!" snapped Ranma quietly.  
  
"What did you call me?" growled Ryoga.  
  
"Shhh! We've almost made it!" said the pigtailed boy. He stopped when the blind waiter turned to face them.  
  
"Shampoo will be with you in a minute, let me take your coat," without waiting for a reply he grabbed the trench coat and removed it before the boys could protest.   
  
The pair froze in place as Mousse bent down and adjusted his glasses looking them up and down.   
  
Moments later they were booted out of the business once again.  
  
  
"Damn, our disguise was foolproof!" said Ranma as he made a fist and glared at the ground.  
  
"Ranma..." said a familiar voice from behind him.  
  
"What? I'm tryin to think here!" said the pigtailed boy as he turned his head. He paused when he saw Ryoga standing behind him with his battle aura flaring up.  
  
"Who's a pig?"  
  
  
The lost boy sat on top of a garbage can and watched the door with a frown on his face. "Darn that Mousse! He's making this ten times harder than it should be!"  
  
"You ain't exactly helping you know," replied Ranma. He had several large lumps on his head and was eyeing Ryoga angrily.  
  
"I've got it!" cried Ryoga suddenly.  
  
  
  
Several minutes later...  
  
"Bakusai Tenketsu!" cried Ryoga again as he jabbed his finger into the end of the tunnel they had dug.  
  
"Are you sure this is the right place?" asked Ranma with a skeptical look on his face. "We've been doing this for a long time now."  
  
"Will you quit complaining? I've done this hundreds of times before! I know where we're going!"  
  
"Yeah, Like I haven't heard that before," grumbled Ranma.  
  
"This is it!" screamed Ryoga as he poked his finger into the soil one last time. A familiar light flooded the tunnel temporarily blinding the pair as the staggered out of the hole.  
  
The pair found themselves staring Soun Tendo in the face and they froze yet again.   
  
"You jerk! You dug us all the way home!" cried Ranma as he hit Ryoga over the head.  
  
The Tendo patriarch got a familiar look on his face as he lifted the boys into his arms.  
  
"Oh no!" cried Ryoga.  
  
"Help! Help!" screamed Ranma.  
  
"Mustache Rub!" exclaimed Soun.  
  
Kasumi rounded the corner only to be greeted by a blood-curdling scream. "Oh my."  
  
Akane walked up behind her and sighed. "Look at them! They're filthy!"  
  
Soun smiled at her cheerfully and chuckled as he put the two quivering and shell-shocked toddlers back on the ground. "Now Akane, they are little boys after all."  
  
"I'm just glad they're back from playing, I was getting worried," said Kasumi with a relieved look on her face. "Lunch is almost ready."  
  
  
  
After lunch, Ranma and Ryoga walked out into the Tendo's yard. "Come on Ranma, we've got to get back," said the lost boy impatiently.  
  
"But, Kasumi said we're having ice cream," whimpered Ranma.  
  
"What kind of man are you?" snapped Ryoga bitterly. He paused for a moment, "What flavor?"  
  
  
  
"Damn you Ranma! Now we're never gonna make it in time!" yelled Ryoga. His mouth was covered in chocolate.  
  
"If you'd quit wandering off we'd have been there by now!" retorted an equally messy Ranma.  
  
"Lets just get this over with," grumbled the lost boy as he charged forward.  
  
Ranma grabbed him by his collar and pulled him behind him in the right direction.  
  
  
"He's outside sweeping the steps," said Ranma from his place in the alleyway.  
  
"We'll ambush him!" said Ryoga with an angry look in his eyes.  
  
Ranma pointed to a conveniently placed set of boxes from a neighboring business and smiled. They were slightly taller than the unaware Mousse as he swept the front door out. "We can do it from there. Come on!"  
  
  
Moments later the pair was climbing up the precarious cardboard with evil looking smiles on their faces. Ryoga was holding his umbrella tightly as he glared at the blind martial artist.  
  
At the top Ranma smirked and looked down. "On three. Ready? One, two,..."  
  
"Ranma! There's some weird roof in the way! I can't climb any higher!" cried Ryoga in frustration.   
  
The pigtailed boy looked back and his face fell. Ryoga was clawing at the pavement and almost standing on his head.  
  
"You dope! How can you get that direction wrong?!"  
  
"Don't worry! I'll get it out of our way!" said Ryoga with a determined look on his face.  
  
"No! You idiot!" cried Ranma.  
  
"Bakusai Tenketsu!"  
  
Mousse looked over at the fallen pile of boxes and sighed. "I told him he was stacking those things wrong. I sure hope none of it's broken. Oh well, it's not my problem." With that said he turned and walked back into the restaurant.  
  
"Stupid jerk!" grumbled Ranma as he lay dazed in the pile.   
  
Ryoga on the other hand was continuing his quest to find the top of the really thick roof that was blocking his path.  
  
  
Ten minutes later...  
  
Mousse was outside washing the windows as the two children watched from their spot in the alleyway once again.  
  
"We've got to get by!" snapped Ranma.  
  
"I say we just charge in and pound him," said Ryoga with a look of frustration.  
  
"You know what happened last time we tried that," said Ranma with a frown.  
  
"You're right, but if we can surprise him..."  
  
"It's simple enough that it might work," agreed Ranma. The pair stepped out of their hiding places and charged forward.  
  
Mousse sighed as he scrubbed at the glass outside the Cat Café. It had been a long day, but it was almost over now. "Perhaps Shampoo will go out on a date with me tonight?" He sighed and lifted up the bucket into his arms. "Oh Shampoo!" He threw his arms out in joyous fantasy as he imagined Shampoo accepting his invitation. The water sailed in a wide arc and splattered all over the sidewalk. He turned and blinked as something hit the back of his legs.  
  
Girl type Ranma and P-chan were sprawled out on the pavement completely soaked.  
  
"Stupid jerk!" muttered the little girl. The pig squealed in dazed agreement.  
  
"Oh! I'm terribly sorry!" said Mousse in surprise. "Come on, let's get you inside and get dried off."  
  
Ranma and Ryoga looked at each other and blinked.  
  
  
"Aiya! What little girl doing out here all alone in street?" exclaimed Shampoo in surprise.  
  
Ranma looked up at her and frowned. Mousse had been unbearably nice, and Shampoo had brought her out a free Ramen.  
  
"Such a cute young girl should realize it's too dangerous out here for kids to be alone," agreed Mousse.  
  
"Whatever, I need to talk to the old ghoul," said Ranma rudely.  
  
Mousse's face fell slightly. If Ranma wasn't so young he'd think the boy had a couple of illegitimate children. He wouldn't put it past old man Saotome though.  
  
"Aiya! You must mean Great Grandmother!" said Shampoo after a moment of thought.  
  
Ranma found herself face down on the table with a wooden staff in the back of her head.  
  
"Such a rude child," commented Cologne.  
  
"Wha'd ya do that for?" cried the pigtailed girl angrily.  
  
"Tell me child, what is it that you want?"  
  
Ranma jumped down and looked at her with the biggest saddest eyes Cologne had ever seen, well, the biggest saddest eyes she'd seen since Shampoo was that age anyway. "You gotta help me! Me and Ryoga ate some weird mushrooms and got turned into little kids!"  
  
Cologne stared at her in shock. "Pardon?"  
  
TBC...  
  
C&C to: Carrotglace@juno.com  
  
For those of you that don't know about the story this is drawing from this is the basic story. Ranma and Ryoga eat some magic mushrooms that turn them into five year old boys. The shrooms turn whomever eats them into the same age as the length of the fungus. A five cm shroom turns you into a five year old. A sixteen cm long shroom would turn them back to normal. The shrooms grow really fast, but the pair has run out of their supply. Ryoga found them in a forest somewhere in Japan.  
  
They can still use their powers, such as the Shi shi houkoudan. Ryoga can also still use his umbrella. They are weaker though, they get beat up and kidnapped at one point or another by most of the cast in this one. Mousse even beats them up. I quote; 'You kids remind me of Ranma and Ryoga. I hate those guys!' Everyone else just thinks they're cute kids who look like Ranma or Ryoga. Shampoo, Kuno, etc. Cologne and Happy have yet to encounter them in this form though.  
  
  
  



End file.
